Some education experts cautioned that the rising numbers could simply mean parents are casting a wider net as competition intensifies for spots in giftedandtalentedprograms.
"Our new admission process will increase equity and access to GiftedandTalentedPrograms by ensuring there is a common measurement of giftedness and enabling families to apply to programs outside of their district, " said a spokeswoman for the Department of Education in an emailed statement.
The dispute illustrates the fervor that often surrounds the city's gifted-and-talented programsand comes amid a particularly bumpy year for admissions at the elementary-school level.
Brooklyn School of Inquiry is one of five highly competitive gifted-and-talented programs that accepts the highest-scoring students from across the city based on results from two tests.
Mr. Weiner, whose mother was a public schoolteacher, repeated ideas he has laid out over the last week: use gifted-and-talented programs to attract students to poor-performing schools, and treat teachers better.